Car-brake.



G. W. LEACH.

CAR BRAKE- APPLICATION min IAY :4. m2.

1,185,109. Patented May 30, 1916.

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APPLICATION FILED HAY 3.1912- Patented May 30, 1916.

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Patented May 30,1916.

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GEORGE W. LEACH, OF PITTSBORO, NORTH CAROLINA.

CAR-BRAKE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 30, 1916.

Application filed May 8, 1912. Serial No. 694,059.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, (lsoaoa \V. Lnaon, a citizen of the United States, residing at Pittsboro, in the county of Chatham and State of North Carolina, have invented certain new and useful Iin )rovements in Car- Brakes, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in brakes, and has for its leading object the provision of an improved form of brake particularly adapted for use upon motor or trolley cars.

A further object of my invention is the rovision of an improved form of brake which may be easily applied to stop the car in that its normal position is in looking ongagement with the wheels of the car an the movement of the controlling lever b the motorman serves the purpose of ren ering the brake inoperative in place of applying the brake through said lever as is usua ly the case.

Another object of m invention is the provision of an improve s ring actuated car brake in which a single rake may be emplo ed to serve both as the ordinary contro ling brake of the car and also as the emergency when it is desired to suddenly check the said car.

Other ob'ects and advanta es of my improved car rake will be readi y apparent by reference to the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, and it will be understood that I may make any modifications in the specific structure shown and described within the scope of my claims without departing from or exseeding the spirit of the invention.

Figure 1 represents a side view of a portion of car equipped with my improved brake. Fig. 2 represents a plan view of the brake in operating position. Fig. 3 represents a plan view 0 the same showing the parts locked in inoperative position. Fig. 4 represents a detailed view of the brake supporting member. Fig. 5 represents a sectional view on the line 5-5 of Fig. 2. Fig. 6 represents a side elevation of the brake device removed from the car. Fi 7 represents a sectional view on the line 7 of Fig. 2, and Fig. 8 represents an enlarged detailed view of the connection of the operating links and lovers. Fig. 9 represents a modified form of the invention, the same be ing shown as applied for operating the mechanism from both ends of the car, said view bein a plan view. Fig. 10 represents a longitiu inal sectional view of the same.

In the drawings, the numeral 1 designates the frame of the ear having secured at the underside thereof the usual trucks 2 having the wheels 3 against which my brakes bear.

Disposed between the trucks 2 is a supporting member 1 which is secured to the bottom of the car by hangers l as shown in the drawing, said supporting member 4: having the forwardly curved ends 5 thereof tern'iinating in cars 6 to which are pivoted the lever arms 7. Said arms 7 have the curved ends 8 which bear the brake shoes 9 for engaging the wheels 3, while the other ends of said brake lovers 7 are pivotall secured between the end portions 10 of the block 11. Said block 11 is secured centrally to the heavy leaf spring 12 which has on each end a slide block 13 provided with projecting flanges 11 fitting over the sides of the supporting member 4, as is most clearly shown in Fig. 6 of the drawin s.

By reference to Fig. 2 of the drawings, it will be seen that the spring 12 norma ly assumes a considerablebow or curve and that the spring bearing at its end against the supporting member 4 will tend to force the block 11 away from the supporting member and thus to swing the levers 7 on their pivots at the ends of the supporting member, tightly forcing the brake shoes against the rims of the wheels 2.

It will be understood that to satisfactorily apply the brakes the spring must be pcssessed of great strength, although the great excess of length of the levers 7 over the end portions 8 will cause a greatly increased proportional amount of pressure to be expended by the brake shoes in comparison to the pressure of the spring against the block 11, and thus against the inner ends of the levers 7.

To control the application of the brakes and to enable me to partially straighten out the springs and thus move the brakes out of engagement with the wheels, I secure to the car the bracket 15 to which is pivoted near its lower end the lever 16 for operating the brakes. Said lover projects upward through the floor of the car into a position where it mav be readily grasped by the motorinan to shift the lever and a iply or release the brakes. A rack plate 1 is secured to the car adjacent the brake lever, and the loo brake lever is provided with the spring pressed do 18 controlled by the lever 19, said dog being adapted to engage the teeth of the rack plate to lock the lever in. desired adjusted position to either entirely move the brake out of engagement with the car wheels or to allow the same to engage the wheels with partial pressure to graduallv bring the car to a stop.

Passing through and rotatably engaged in the lower end of the lever 16 is the bolt 20 which engages the link members 22 which extend rearwardly beyond the sup orting member 4. The other ends of sai links 22 are pivotally secured to the outer ends of the lever 23, said levers being pivoted near their inner ends to the ears 24 which pro ject rearwardly from the sup orting member 4. The inner ends of the evers 23 have pivotally secured thereto the short links 25, the other ends of said links 25 being secured to the draw rod 26 which has its end secured centrally to the block 11.

From the fore oin description takenin connection with t e rawings, the construction of my im roved car brake will be readily understo and it willbe seen that on account of the arrangement of the various levers each having the long arm to which the power is applied and the short arm which serves to communi ate the power or pressure to another device that but slight comparative force is required to be exerted on the lever 16 to compress the spring 12 to shiftthe brakes out of engagement with the car wheels. It will also be seen that as the block 11. is drawn rearwardly the guide members l3 ill slide outward and toward the curved ends of the supporting member 4, and the su porting member thus serves both as a guide for the ends of the spring and also as a fulcrum for the brake overs and for the spring controlling levers.

It is evident that I have provided a simple brake mechanism which may be readily applied to an ordinary car wit out change in the construction 0 the said car, which brake will be thoroughl etlicient in operation and can be instant y applied either to -adually check the car or as an emergency rake to lock the wheels against any movement.

In the modified form of the invention, and as shown in Fi 9, the blocks 11 are provided with s ace ears 11', and between which are pivota 1y connected the inner ends of the bars 12', said bars bein pivotally supported beneath the bottom 0 the car by brackets 13'. In this form the draw rods 26 are provided with extensions 26' and to which are connected the outer ends of chains 27, the inner ends of said chains being connected to the inner ends of the oppositely curved arms 14, said arms being pivotally connected to' the U-shaped hanger 15', and

near their centers. To the outer ends of the arms 14 are connected. the outer ends of the links 16', the inner ends of the same bein pivotally connected intermediate the on s of the lever 17, and at different points thereon.

Leading from the outer ends of the bars 12' are links 18', the inner ends of the same being pivotally connected to the outer ends of the lever 17'. The hanger chain 19' is provided, the same having diverging sections 20, each section bein connected to one end of the lever 17', w hile the upper end of the hanger 19 is secured to the ottom of the car, thus effectually sup orting the lever 17 and its connection. has it will be seen that the brake mechanism by minor changes may be operated from botm platforms 0 the car and m unison.

I claim 1. A car brake, comprisin a supporting member adapted to be secured to a car truc frame, brake levers pivoted to the ends of the supporting member and to each other, brake shoes carried by the outer ends of the brake levers, a bowed leaf spring having its ends slidably secured to the supporting member, connections between the central ortion of said spring and the connected en s of the brake levers, the curve of the spring being such as to cause the spring to normally shift the brake levers on their pivots to apply the brake shoes to the car wheels, and a controllin lever pivotedtothe supportin member an to one of the first mentioned Tevers for straightening the spring to move the brake shoes out of engaging position.

2. A vehicle rake, comprising a supporting member adapted to be secured to a. car truck frame a bowed leaf spring having its ends slidably secured to the supporting member and its central portion curving outwardly therefrom, brake levers pivoted to the ends of the supporting member and'having their inner ends pivotally secured together and to the spring, bell crank levers pivoted to the central portion of the supporting member, links connecting the central portions of the spring with said levers, and means for shiftin said levers in unison on their pivots, where y the rocking of said levers serves to flatten the sprin and thus to rock the brake levers into inoperative position.

3. A car brake, comprising a brake beam having forwardl curving ends, brake levers pivpted to t 1e ends of the brake beam and having brake shoes on their outer ends, a leaf spring having its ends slidably secured to the rake beam and havin its central portion curving forward rom the brake beam, 0. block secured to the central ortion of the spring, the ends of the brake evers being pivoted to said block, and the curvature of the spring being such as to ing of the operating lever draws the outer copies of this patent may be obtslnsd tor ends of the brake beam lever forward and causes their inner ends to draw on the connections and flatten the spring, thus shifting the brake levers to move the brake shoes into inoperative position.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature, in the presence of two witnesses.

GEORGE W. LEACH. Witnesses:

J. D. Gowns, D. M. Sums.

five cents each, by addressing the "Commissioner 0! hunts,

Washington, D. 0. 

